


I'll Name The Dogs

by tstrash



Series: Our Life Is Like A Song [2]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Dogs, F/M, Fluff, pt 2 of so much fluff, this is your fluff warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 01:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14225793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tstrash/pseuds/tstrash
Summary: “But seriously, Tessa won’t let me get a dog! Can you believe it?”





	I'll Name The Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kinda in over my head. Here's some major rpf. Shoutout to the happy chat, now I'm on the top of the bad list.

Scott is the kind of person who works hard to get what he wants and he will not rest until he gets it. It’s an admirable trait to have. Those of perseverance, determination, and grit. But in what he’s trying to get now, these traits only seem to annoy Tessa.

It’s April and the world championships have ended, the competitive season is the rear- view mirror. Scott finds himself sitting at home more often than not these days, and he is deserving of the rest, but a thought that something is missing tears at him. Tessa’s class schedule became more predictable in the spring, giving her more evenings at home. Less travel but still long days of lectures, meetings and studying. She’s grateful on the days she makes it home by four that they found a home conveniently located in a quaint neighbourhood between Gadbois and McGill. When she gets home, he’s sat on the couch, feet up on the coffee table with his laptop perched in his lap. She walks over to meet him, placing a kiss to his lips when he lifts his head from the computer screen to meet hers. She continues on to the office to set her bag down, and as she comes back out, she asks how his day was.  
“What did you do?” She inquires as she finds her spot on the couch next to him, curled into his side.  
“Oh you know, sat around, made some breakfast, sat some more, went for a run, made some lunch. It’s been quiet around here” he says blandly, looping his arm around her shoulder, placing a kiss to the top of her head.  
“I’m sorry I’m not around much, but finals are in two weeks, and then I have a whole 3 months with you before classes start again in August. Believe me, it’s not as easy as I wanted it to be.”  
“Definitely not ideal” he sighs and she knows he isn’t finished, so she sits in silence, waiting for him to continue. “You know, remember when you came home from Vancouver and surprised me?”  
“I do” she recalls with a smile on her face. That was the happiest she’s ever been. Maybe besides winning the Olympics, but since then.  
“I mentioned something you weren’t too keen on…” he says tentatively.  
“Scott, we’re not getting a dog.” She knew exactly what he was getting at.  
“I just- I really think I need one, we need one” he starts. “That way, when you aren’t here, I have something to occupy my time. It can come on runs with me, we can play fetch, lick our plates when we’re done eating. Just think about it Tess, please?”  
“I’m sorry. Trust me, I really want a dog too, but the timing isn’t right, and if we’re gonna get a dog, we want to give it the best life possible, right?” she says, finally meeting his gaze.  
“Yeah, I guess” he huffs.  
“I’m not saying no, I’m just saying not right now, okay? I love you and I’m sorry. Maybe we’ll talk more about it when I’m done school, that way I can look after it too” she reasons with a smile.  
She gets up from the couch, disentangling them from one another before placing a kiss on his forehead. “I have a paper to finish” she states.  
“I guess I’ll make dinner.”

Tessa passes all her finals with flying colors and Scott has been in and out of Gadbois helping choreograph show numbers for those going on tour. He makes a point to bring Tessa with him, claiming she is really the artist of the two, and she doesn’t dispute it. It gives her a chance to skate with him every once in a while and relive the feelings of being on the ice she so frequently missed because of school.  
It’s the end of June and Tessa and Scott make the road trip to Tessa’s family lake side cottage for Canada day. They’re joined by her sister and her boyfriend, and her brothers and their wives for a weekend couple’s getaway, and it’s nice. Finally, they get the vacation they all desperately needed. After illegally setting off fireworks on the night of July first, they’re all cozied up on lawn chairs around a bonfire, drinking, chatting, and enjoying the company they neglect to receive often. With everyone happily buzzed, Tessa and Jordan go into the kitchen, grabbing more booze before returning out to the party, where Tessa wastes no time perching herself on Scott’s lap instead of her own chair.  
“Guys can you believe it?” Scott slurs out as he wraps his arms around her waist and she nuzzles her head into his neck when she feels his bare hand creep up the back of her shirt to rub small circles onto her bare skin. Something about booze makes Scott the most tender and loving human, and even though Tessa loves him sober, she also doesn’t mind this side of him.  
“Believe what? That you finally got your shit together and asked my sister out?” Kevin pipes up.  
“No, no, I knew that was going to happen at some point.” Scott replies seriously before continuing. “But seriously, Tessa won’t let me get a dog! Can you believe it?”  
Tessa whips her head up from where she was resting it.  
“Okay listen all of you” her voice cracks and she tries to be serious, but there’s a stifle of laughter coming from the entire group. Drunk Tessa has something to say and they can’t wait to hear it. “I want a dog, Scott” and she whips her head to look at him. Chatter from the group errupts with phrases along the lines of ‘oh please don’t get a dog’ to ‘well what the hell are you guys waiting for?’ And Tessa clears her throat and this only means that a long- winded speech is coming. “I want a dog. And I know Scott wants a dog, and he’s gonna do anything he can to convince me, but listen everyone. I am too fucking busy for a dog. Maybe when life settles down we’ll pick out a dog, and it’ll be great, but now you all have proof that I’m not telling him no, I’m just saying not now.” And she lets out a big sigh after she addresses the crowd. A couple are laughing, a couple don’t know what to think, and a couple don’t take her seriously and have no idea where this whole idea of getting a dog came from.  
“So Tessa, hypothetically speaking, for Scott’s sake, when is the right time? I know you said when life settles down, but what does that look like?” Charlie’s wife asks.  
“I was thinking when I’m finished school. That way I can be home more and actually take care of this dog, just so I don’t leave him all on his own. I don’t even know why we’re going over this again honestly” she tells her weakly and results to putting her head back down on his shoulder.  
There were no more dog conversations for the rest of the trip.

Tessa is back in school at the beginning of August because she’s rushing to finish her program and Scott is right back into his second season of coaching. They’re back to a routine they’ve found themselves in before where the only time they see each other is in the mornings, when they’re settling into bed, or on the weekends that Tessa doesn’t have an assignment due the Monday or Scott isn’t attending a competition. It’s these times where she’s thankful she doesn’t have a dog to worry about as well, but she doesn’t mention it to Scott because it’ll make him feel even worse. 

He thinks about it every once in a while when he spends yet another night alone on the couch eating dinner, it hurts. He so badly want’s life to settle down and he does his best to make things as normal for them on the weekends when they are together uninterrupted. They cuddle, eat ice cream and watch Netflix, or he’ll treat her to a fancy dinner downtown with three courses and an over priced bottle of wine, and they make the most of it when they wake up the next morning naked and tangled in the sheets of their bed. He also finds his time alone the best time to brainstorm ways to either convince her that getting a dog is a good idea, or coming up with ideas about how to make their lives seem less chaotic and out of sync. 

He’s always known that he wants to marry Tessa one day, but he’s never concretely made up his mind one way or the other until they have a conversation mid October as they’re lying in bed.  
“Can I ask you a serious question?” Scott pipes up after a few silent minutes of cuddling.  
“You know you can ask me anything, Scott” Tessa replies quickly.  
“I know you don’t want to talk about it again, but I promise this is the last time for a while” Scott says, holding his breath.  
Tessa sits up and flicks on the lamp next to the bed, looks down at him as he’s still lying in the spot she pulled away from. “Scott, what more is there to talk about? I know you want a dog” she tells him calmly but with an edge of frustration.  
“When you said you wanted life to settle, what do you picture that as?” he asks her as he moves one of his hands to stroke her thigh.  
“I picture myself out of school, with a steady job. I picture coming home to you at a reasonable hour of the day. I picture us finally getting the timing right. Having the time to be us, be together. You know?” she tells him, and her eyes are shiny as if the thought makes her get teary. “And I mean if there’s a dog in that mix somewhere, even better.”  
“So you’re still stuck on after you’re done school?” he continues.  
“I think so. Maybe even waiting till after we’re married” she slips and bites her bottom lip.  
“Oh, okay so that changes everything then” Scott stutters, stunned.  
“Does it?” She asks him as she raises her eyebrow. “You’re overthinking it, Scott. Life works in strange and wonderful ways. Let it happen.” She tells him as she turns to turn the lamp off before settling in beside him. “Goodnight babe” she finally says as she presses a kiss to his cheek, and moves her way into his arms where he cradles her against his chest.  
Maybe this was his entry into a more stable life with Tessa. 

At Christmas, they fly back to London to spend the holidays with their families. The day after arriving, Scott took his brother to the jewelry store, spent all of five minutes scanning the rows of rings they had before one caught his eye. There wasn’t more to it. A thin silver band with a small teardrop diamond was elegant yet understated, classic yet timeless, just like Tessa. When Tessa had told him not to over think it, all he did was over think it. But then the idea of how he was going to do it came to him.  
Three days after Christmas, she joined him at the farm in Ilderton and he invited her for a skate on the pond in the back. They skated around causally, holding hands, making jokes, throwing snow at one another, all sappy and cute. Until he feels it, and he stops dead in his tracks.  
“Are you okay?” she asks with concern when she realizes he stopped.  
“Oh- yeah- I uh- yeah no I’m good” he stammers.  
“Uh okay, yeah, no you aren’t. What’s up?” She asks him.  
“You know when we talked about getting married?” he asks her dumbly.  
“Yes, Scott. Which time?”  
“The time where you cryptically told me not to overthink it.” And with that he pulls out the black box from his inner jacket pocket. She gasps and immediately knows what’s happening. “Now here’s the thing. I don’t want to get on one knee because first off, it’s cold, and second, this is already cheesy as hell and making me cringe, so spare me the thought and just say yes” he pleads as he opens the box.  
She immediately goes into the fit of laughter and tears and it’s the best sound he’s ever heard. Even better than the last time in Pyeongchang.  
“Yes” she says softly, and he slips the ring on her finger, following up with his hands on her cheeks as he presses his lips roughly to hers, immediately softening when he feels a hot tear from her eye pressed into the skin of his cheek.  
“I didn’t overthink it, and we’re unconventional as it is so I figured that was okay?” he asks.  
“It was perfect” she tells him as she looks at the ring, admiring it from many angles.  
“I have one more question now” he goes on. “Can we get a dog now?”  
She laughs and slaps his chest before kissing him again. “Soon.”

Tessa graduates with her master’s in business administration at the end of January and Scott accompanies her mother and sister to the ceremony. He throws her a party and they spend this time also sharing the news of their engagement with friends and extended family that hadn’t found out right away. She immediately finds a job with a local fashion company and she can’t help but think that this is all working out perfectly. 

Scott’s team wins their first world title and Tessa had found her dream dress while he was away, fully delving into wedding planning. Not like she hasn’t been planning her wedding for years.

The big day arrives in July and they find themselves having a quaint outdoor ceremony at a green space by the cottage. Tessa uses the cottage as her place to get ready while a neighbouring home graciously offered Scott and his groomsmen a bachelor pad. Scott cries when he first sees Tessa in her flowy off- white dress, strapless with lace detailing, and she can’t contain her smile when she sees how handsome he looks in light grey dress pants and a white shirt with a matching grey bowtie. Scott continues to live up to his reputation as a waxing poetic as he spews his vows to Tessa in front of the hundred guests in attendance. Tessa’s vow aren’t shy of perfect and he finds himself crying again. When they seal the deal with kiss, he knows this is exactly what was meant to happen

They’re on the dance floor sharing their first dance and it’s everything everyone expected. Scott pulls her in close and her arms snake around his next. If his eyes looked anymore like hearts, he would be the emoji he ever so frequently looked like. When he sets his head against the side of hers, his lips are millimeters away from her ear.  
“This was perfect” he hums.  
“You’re perfect” she whispers back.  
He pulls back and grins, pulling her into a soft kiss and the sounds of the audience they have coos. When he rests his head back on hers, the damn thought that’s been haunting him for over a year comes back.  
“So now that we’re officially married, can we get a dog?” he asks calmly, trying not to draw too much of a reaction. To his surprise, she pulls back and stares him in the eyes, slowly nodding her head up and down. She finally said yes. If this wasn’t the best day of his life before this moment, it certainly is now. 

For Scott’s birthday, Tessa takes him to the shelter in Montreal. He finally is going to get the dog he’s been dream and obsessing about and he shakes with excitement the entire way there. He’s overwhelmed when they walk in and wants to take all of them but he knows that would take more convincing of Tessa than this one already did. He knows her when he sees her. A small golden retriever puppy, coloring of a bright sunny day, beautiful blue eyes, stares up at him and he’s sold.  
“This one” he tells Tessa and she smiles at him.  
“She’s perfect” she confirms.  
They do up the paperwork and before long they have their new dog on a makeshift leash as they stop at the pet store on the way home to grab the essentials like a bed, food, some toys and some treats. The rest they’ll figure out as it happens. 

As their sitting on the couch that night eating dinner, the dog they have yet to name mooching for a little taste of food, Scott knows what her name will be.  
“Reese” he says in between bites.  
“What?” she asks, cocking her head towards him.  
“The dog. Her name is Reese” he states.  
“Like after Reese Witherspoon?” she rationalizes.  
“Yeah” he confirms.  
“I love it.”  
Reese ends up getting to lick Scott’s plate because he already loves this dog so much, and it’s only been a couple hours. 

They take the entire week off of their respective jobs to spend time with Reese. They take her to every dog park in the city and Scott discovers that she’s loves to fetch and he couldn’t have envisioned a better companion. She cuddles up with them on their bed at night, and they feed her with kisses and belly rubs and it becomes the most perfect situation in Tessa’s eyes when Scott is gently petting Reese’s head and looking at Tessa.  
“My girls” he breathes.  
And her heart explodes.  
She commends Scott for his perseverance because she can’t imagine her life without this dog now.


End file.
